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How to Improve Drop Shots? When and how to use them?

*I apologize in advance if some of my terminology isn't too professional"

I don't have much power, so usually I choose to play a drop shot if I am given the chance.
I've been on the school team 2 years, and I plan on trying out again.

I have never had any formal training, and I just try to learn from others or just from playing.

About 20% of the time, my drop shots are good, just barely clearing or even grazing the net.
About 50% of the time, however, my drop shots will be a few inches above the net, and fly far too long before hitting the ground.
And 30% of the time, my shots never even make it over.

Sometimes, I choose the wrong time to drop, and my opponent just easily hits it over my head, and I can only make a weak return, usually resulting me in losing the point.

Also, what drop shots should I use in certain situations?
I usually just do a regular drop, but sometimes if I'm at one side of the court, I'll try and drop it cross court
And, what is a spinning net shot and how can I do it?

I don't have much power, so usually I choose to play a drop shot if I am given the chance.

How much power do you have? Are you able to do a baseline clear?

Originally Posted by KYW917

Sometimes, I choose the wrong time to drop, and my opponent just easily hits it over my head, and I can only make a weak return, usually resulting me in losing the point.

Here's where I'm a bit confused. If you're doing a drop shot from the baseline, then a shot that goes over your head would probably go out, right? Unless you rush forward, which you shouldn't do. Or you're doing a drop shot from somewhere mid-court, in which case you should have enough time to move backward, but your return is weak. So you must be dropping from mid-court, yes? And you must be playing singles, right? Otherwise your partner would take the shot.

For the drop to be effective, you need to work on your power. Let's take your case. You do a drop, opponent lifts over your head. You'll need to move back, do a clear to the baseline, pushing your opponent to the back, and so on.

Originally Posted by KYW917

And, what is a spinning net shot and how can I do it?

When taking a shuttle at the net, you put enough spin /slice on the shuttle so that it tumbles over the net. Less difficult if you take the shuttle early.

Learn to do power shots. You'll realize that a drop shot is a power shot minus the power. So to speak. Then practice, practice, practice.

When and how to use them?

The drop shot isn't meant to win points. It's one use is to get the short lift, setting you up for the kill. Which needs power. Another is deception. Another is to get you out of trouble. And there are other uses which you'll figure out as you go along.

To be able to actually win the point with the drop, or get a return that is easy to hit, you need to show your opponent that you have enough power to win the point if he defends from mid-court. Get it?

Learn to do power shots. You'll realize that a drop shot is a power shot minus the power. So to speak. Then practice, practice, practice.

When and how to use them?

The drop shot isn't meant to win points. It's one use is to get the short lift, setting you up for the kill. Which needs power. Another is deception. Another is to get you out of trouble. And there are other uses which you'll figure out as you go along.

To be able to actually win the point with the drop, or get a return that is easy to hit, you need to show your opponent that you have enough power to win the point if he defends from mid-court. Get it?

Haha, yep. I guess I just have to work on getting back to do a high clear.
What should I do if my opponent plays a drop though? Drop it back or clear it?

1. Before going fancy, you need to practice on your consistancy. Even if say you can only perform 1 type of drop stroke, make it work in a constant way, is much more important than doing 10 different tricky, well none of them work better than 30%.

2. Execute your drop, when opponents have the least chance to return, usually means they are either far back from the net, or already off balance. Unless you have a perfect stroke, an opponent well positioned him/herself in the front will automatically add pressue for you to execute a good drop.

What should I do if my opponent plays a drop though? Drop it back or clear it?

Eh, a little terminology lesson to avoid confusion. Your opponent drops the shuttle from baseline, or somewhere thereabouts, and your return is either a net shot (most people say drop, which makes it confusing) or a lift (not clear).

It really depends on you and your opponent. You: are you early or late to the shuttle? Your opponent: what he does after he drops, strength or weakness, things like that.

Terminology lesson to avoid confusion

.
Agree, we need a terminology lesson to avoid confusion about strokes/shots in this discussion/thread.

Terminology used can vary in different countries and/or used by different coaches.Let me state some which I use in my coaching session (from Melbourne, Australia).

But before we talk about strokes and shots, we also need to have a clearer terminology on these 2 items.

For me, I use this terminology, namely;
* Stroke = How a player executes a shot. It relates to our stroke production. It describes our body action.
* Shot = How the shuttlecock travels. It describes the trajectory of the path taken by the shuttlecock.

Now, we need to name 3 areas of the court, namely;
* Fore Court = The area between the service line and the net
* Back Tram Lines = The area between the last 2 lines at the back of the court
* Mid Court = The area between the Fore Court and the Back Tram Lines

OK, now we shall talk about the name of the various shots (again to remind our readers that this is only my terminology).
* Dropshot = An overhead shot played to land in my opponent's Fore Court
* Netplay = A shot played at about net height (at my Fore Court) to land in my opponent Fore Court
* Clear = An overhead shot played/hit high to land in my opponent's Back Tram Lines
* Lift = An underarm shot played/hit high to land in my opponent's Back Tram Lines

Now we shall talk about when and how to use them. The use of our different shots will depend on the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents.

We should use more Dropshots and Netplays, if;
* Our opponent is slow in his/her footwork in running forward
* Our opponent is weak in his/her Netplay
* When our opponent is not near the net
* etc, etc, ...

On the other hand, we should use more Clears and Lifts, if;
* Our opponent is slow in his/her footwork in running backward
* Our opponent is weak in his/her Overhead strokes
* When our opponent is near the net
* etc, etc, ...

Hope that my info/suggestions are clear; and not caused more confusion in this discussion/thread.
.

One thing to consider is that, after playing a drop shot, you have less time to recover than when you play a clear. For this reason, drop shots are usually reserved for when you are relatively well positioned. They can be considered a somewhat more aggressive shot than a clear.

There are other tactical applications, however, such as a drive drop shot when forced deep into your backhand corner. This is a defensive shot.